Dead End Delivery

Belle Harbor Teen Charged In Fatal Hit-And-Run

By Nicholas Briano

A Belle Harbor teenager charged with fatally hitting a Chinese food delivery man and leaving the scene of the accident in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn has been charged with second degree manslaughter and additional charges in relation to the death, according to a spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney.

That source alleges that Kathryn Foris, 18, was traveling along Gerritsen Avenue in her white 2008 Nissan Altima near the intersection of Avenue V last Thursday night when at around 8:20 p.m. she ran a red light and struck Ju Xiang Chen, 49, a local delivery driver for an area Chinese food restaurant, who was on his motorbike.

According to an eyewitness who spoke with police directly after the event, Foris hit the scooter in the intersection, sending the victim onto the hood of her car. According to his account, Foris drove about a quarter of a block with the man on top of her car until she struck the eyewitness’ vehicle. That impact reportedly sent Chen toppling off the hood and into the path of her car and she once again hit him, fleeing the scene without stopping.

Court papers show that it’s unknown if the witness was driving along Gerritsen Avenue or simply parked or doubleparked in the area.

According to police, Chen was found more than 50 yards away from the scene of the crash with severe head trauma. He was immediately rushed to an area hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

The impact of the crash, however, was severe enough to dislodge the Nissan Altima’s license plate, which was recovered by police at the scene. That plate led them to Rockaway.

When detectives from the 100 Precinct squad, alerted by Brooklyn detectives, arrived at her home shortly after 9:30 p.m. that same night, they observed her Nissan Altima with a cracked windshield and a rear license plate matching the one they found at the scene. According to court papers, police arrested Foris at her home, despite reports that she surrendered at the 100 Precinct police house.

Local sources told The Wave on Tuesday that Foris’ father was driving back to the scene of the accident with his daughter when detectives called him and asked him to return home, but the paper has not been able to corroborate that story.

Foris was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court, charged with second degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving. She was released on $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail.

According to published reports, the victim was an employee for the Sheepshead Bay based Lucky Star restaurant. He immigrated to the United States ten years ago and leaves behind a wife.

Foris will be represented by high-profile attorney and Neponsit resident, Joe Mure, who says Foris and her family are devastated.

“The entire Foris family is upset, devastated and feels terrible for the victim. This was a tragic accident. Their hearts go out to the victim and his family, but this was an accident,” Mure said.